The present invention relates to inflatable articles of manufacture in general, and more particularly to an inflatable support arrangement usable as a support for a person, either in the sitting position, or in a prostrate position.
There are already known various inflatable articles of manufacture which serve various purposes, either as toys or as utilitarian articles, such as rafts, mattresses, chairs, hassocks, floating lounge chairs, or the like. Various constructions of such known inflatable articles of the type here under consideration are disclosed, for instance, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,437,602; 3,029,109; 3,125,377; 3,533,113; 3,572,836; 3,898,703; and 4,232,477. So, for instance, the U.S. Pat. No. 2,437,602 discloses an inflatable article which includes a plurality of compartments which are separated from one another by respective internal walls which have one-way flap valves mounted therein, such that air can flow only in one direction through the respective valve. Hence, by compressing and expanding the compartment whose valve communicates with the exterior, air is transferred through the respective one-way valves into the adjoining compartments, or ambient air is drawn into the initial compartment, respectively. However, this conventional inflatable article leaves much to be desired as far as its stability and other properties are concerned, especially since the initial compartment is usually underinflated. Also, the compartments are relatively large so that the stability of even the other compartments is relatively low. On the other hand, the U.S. Pat. No. 3,029,109 discloses inflatable articles which have relatively smaller compartment so that the stability of the article is somewhat improved. Yet, the walls separating the compartments are perforated so that air can relatively freely flow between the compartments when outside pressure is applied to the article, so that the article again will be distor ed. Thus, it may be seen that the conventional inflatable articles have a multitude of drawbacks and hence have not found as widespread use as otherwise possible.